Sport in go-mode!

For such a small area, Draycott & district is blessed with lots of sport – from fishing to ju-jitsu and cricket, and even horse-racing.
And it seems everyone is getting back into activity mode following the past year of lockdowns.

Ju-jitsu moves

Good news for lovers of martial arts is that Tara Burndred’s award-winning Tatsu Dojo has completed its successful move to Draycott Sports Centre, where the conversion of two squash courts into a Ju Jitsu room is now an excellent new facility.

^{Ju jitsu room at Draycott Sports Centre}

As you’ll know, Tara and her team were formerly in a building on the Blythe Business Park, just 200 yards from the Sports Centre, but decided to decamp up the road. There was a possibility that the forthcoming new access road into the park might go through their old building – so it was a wise move in more ways than one!

Compliments must also go to Draycott Sports & Fitness Centre which is showing how flexible it can be, and responsive to local needs. (Believe it or not, there are over sixty separate sessions at the centre that one can currently book for, from spin-cycling and fitness classes right though to tennis training.)

Get racing!

The news that a horse being trained in this area had won a race at Uttoxeter Racecourse this month was quite a surprise to some people. Where are these stables?, they wondered.
Well, go to the junction of Cresswell and Saverley Green, and there you will find the Leavy Stables, which specialises in horses owned by consortia of ‘ordinary’ punters. The National Hunt trainer Barry Leavy is the one who puts the horses through their paces; Cresswellians often see the horses go through their ‘gallops’ across the fields.

^{Inishbiggle with owner Georgina Davies}

Incidentally, the winning horse we are talking about was Inishbiggle, but you won’t have made much money if you’d bet on him. He was the red-hot favourite, so you could only get odds of a measly 2/9!

Cricket for all

The Blythe CC First XI (based in Cresswell) may not have made a great start to the season, but a cricket club is not just about the first team or the second team. If you look at the club’s fixture list, you’ll see it also has a roster of junior teams, from under-8s upwards.

^{The Blythe CC ground has spectacular views}

What the club doesn’t have (at the moment) is an all-female team. This is partly because cricket is one of the few sports where males and females can play alongside each other as equals; the rules say a woman could play in the first team if she were picked. Blythe already run a mixed adult men-and-women session.
Nevertheless, the club recognises that girls new to the game may feel more comfortable in an all-female situation, which is why there are special girls-only training sessions on Fridays between 6pm -8pm for girls aged under-9 and girls aged under-11.

It’s great that the club is making really efforts to make space to get youngsters into the game. A list of ‘open-sessions’ where youngsters (of both sexes) can just come along is available on application to club officials.

Just watch

Finally, it’s great to know that spectators are welcome again at outdoor sports activities. There’s nothing like watching a game of cricket on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Blythe CC’s Cresswell ground!

Even the bowls club which plays on the green at the Cresswell business park, Checkley Outdoor, welcomes visitors, though, as secretary Sue Stepek told us: “…we’re don’t really get big crowds…”!!

As you’d expect though, social-distancing is requested at all venues, even after lockdown restrictions are fully relaxed at the end of June.

Links to more sporting opportunities in this district can be found in the sport section of our Local Organisations page

***
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NEWS: cricket double act / Covid stats / GIs in Cresswell / new path access

News-in-brief  from Draycott-In-The-Moors in late August 2020
In this post we have news of…: cricket club’s father & son act / new access to old railway / Cresswell’s US soldiers in WW2 / local Covid stats…

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Lad & dad

The cricket season has been a strange one for local clubs, starting late in the year and operating under unfamiliar rules. But, for the Blythe CC First XI, who play in Cresswell, it has been surprisingly successful.

A run of victories is ensuring this will be a season to remember, and a lot of the wins have been inspired by a father & son act. Zen Malik,  who used to play for Worcestershire, and his father Khalid Malik are both new signings for the club, but have been in dazzling form – Zen with both bat & ball and Khalid as a bowler. In one match they even combined – with one of them catching a batsman out off the other’s bowling!

Khalid Malik is welcomed to Blythe CC for the 2020 season

It’s worth going to see them in action – there are still a few games left of the season at the club’s Cresswell ground and spectators are welcome (free admission). See our what’s on page.

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Cliff’s permissive path

One of the problems with encouraging walkers to use the old Cresswell to Cheadle railway path is that there are very few access points to it. Both ends (at Cheadle and at Cresswell) are closed off, and, if you are in Cresswell, access to it from the road (i.e. from Cresswell Old Lane) is only legal at one point, right up until you get to Totmonslow.
This is a shame as the old-railway path is a really good walk, especially for those who have dogs – but many are put off when they find how hard it is to get access to it.

Cresswell end of the old-railway path (with Railway Cottages in the background)

Well, that’s all changed. A local public-spirited farmer, Cliff Shelley, has said that a 100-yard stretch across one of his fields can now be used as a ‘permissive’ path, to get from Cresswell Old Lane to the old-railway.
If you get to St Mary’s Church in Cresswell, you’ll see a gate opposite the church’s driveway and, beyond that gate, a field. Simply go through the gate, walk directly down-bank for 100 yards down the field, and you will reach another gate – where you meet the old-railway path.
This is a real boon to local walkers!

Our thanks go to Cliff Shelley – with one warning. This is a ‘permissive’ path, so Cliff can withdraw people’s right to use it at any time.
So, it’s the usual thing: respect the land, and close the gates after you … or the permissions may be withdrawn.

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Americans’ great loss

As regular readers of this newsblog will know, we have been remembering our local WW2 dead over the last two months.
It’s sobering to remember though that another, ‘adopted’ group of people living here in WW2 also had their own losses.

As many older folk will know, the American army had a small base in Cresswell (so called ‘Camp Bolero’) during WW2.  One of the units based at Cresswell was the US 130th Company (Chemical Processing). But these soldiers were in shock when they arrived here in August 1944, because, just a few weeks before, when the company had been stationed in London, a V-1 flying bomb (or ‘buzz bomb’) had hit their quarters.

Devastation after the bombing of US quarters in London in summer 1944

A third of the company was killed at one stroke – over sixty men. (A tribute website to the memory of the men was set up recently.)
Unsurprisingly, the company had to be moved out of London in order to recover, and were sent to the ‘peace & quiet’ of this part of the Moorlands.

Amazingly though, they were not safe even in this part of the world. In December 1944, the Luftwaffe was bombing northern England and bombs were dropped in this part of the world too. The Americans realised that no part of England was completely safe…
Around March 1945 the company left Cresswell for the fighting in France.

The full story of these GIs was researched and written up by the late Barry Phillips, a local man who made it his life’s work to investigate the modern history of Cresswell. To see his full research, click here.

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Covid numbers

One thing that is confusing people is: as we live in a quiet part of the world, should we really be worried about Covid?
The easiest thing to do, in order to answer the question, is to look up the statistics – but they are hard to find, hard to understand, and poorly reported.
So… we’ve been digging.

The best place to find a guide to understanding the figures is the good ol’ BBC-News Website.  It’s helpful to have a guide because the Sentinel is reporting a total of 80 deaths from Covid  in the Staffordshire Moorlands this year, while the government’s own coronavirus stats page says 70 deaths. (It’s all about how you count!)

Sign of the times: the postbox in Cresswell is marked ‘priority’

However, whatever the precise figure, these are sobering facts. You’d think the Staffordshire Moorlands (into which Draycott falls) would be relatively safe, as we are in a quite remote part of the country – but it appears to be less safe than you might think. It works out that Covid has been responsible for around one in ten deaths in the Moorlands since the beginning of the year.
In fact, the rate of deaths in the Moorlands, per head of population, is higher even than Manchester or Stoke, which is concerning.
Why this should be – we don’t know. Does any reader know?

The good news is however that these are figures reflecting the past – the last six months – and the fact is that, as of this week at least, Britain (after a very bad start indeed), is now among the very best in all of the advanced nations in dealing with the pandemic.

So, in the meantime, the message is surely – no need to panic, but don’t relax…  Be careful still. Even in little Draycott.

***
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NEWS: new speed limits / Silver / scary leaflet / sport debut / cricket

News-in-brief  from Draycott-In-The-Moors in late July 2020
In this post we have news of…: new speed limits / missing Silver / a scare-mongering leaflet / Jordan’s league debut / cricket is back…

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New speed limits

It looks likely that new speed limits will soon be brought in for the centre of the village. The new limits will apply in central Draycott, in anticipation of a proposed new roundabout there.

Proposed roundabout diagram (detail)

The limit will be reduced from 40mph to 30mph along two stretches: from (roughly) Ford’s (Fayre) Field to Manor Farm; and along Cresswell Lane, from the Draycott junction to (roughly) the Sports Centre.

Annoyingly, at first Highways left residents hardly any time for a public consultation period, so they were forced to extend it by three weeks (from late June to July 14th).
However, very oddly – despite being given this extension and all the public interest -, when our village council met on July 13th, it still did not come up with a formal response to the plans. It’s not clear why not.
(It’s not the first time the village council have failed to put in responses to infrastructure consultations – and you do have to wonder at that kind of record…)

It also seems a bit strange that the Highways Department wants to do this now, because there are still no definite dates for the construction of this particular roundabout – the very reason for the new speed limits!
But anyway, for many residents, sick of the speeding along Uttoxeter Road, it will be good news that there will likely now be new limits.

The changes, when they come in, will follow another speed-limit change in the village – at the west end, where the dual carriageway is now a 40mph zone after having been a 60mph zone up until the New Year. (It was changed to accommodate the new Blythe Fields housing estate there).

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Jordan gets his boots on

The local paper, the Cheadle&Tean Times, has been following the career of Jordan Brown, the Cresswell lad who is steadily going up the professional football ladder. After going through the Stoke City Academy, getting taken on at Derby County, playing in their reserves and in European tournaments, the latest good news that the paper reports is that Jordan has now made his debut in Derby’s first side, in a full Football League match. He came on as a substitute in Derby’s encounter at West Brom earlier this month.
Well done Jordan…

It’s interesting to think that Jordan was taken on at Derby when Frank Lampard was manager there – because if there is one good opinion worth having in football, it’s Frank’s!

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Cricket is back

More sport – we have the return of cricket to the Creswell ground of Blythe CC. (The coronavirus crisis meant that the start of the season, which was due in mid-April, had to be suspended.)

The Blythe CC ground has spectacular views

This will be a strange season, as all sorts of social distancing rules will apply (except for wicket-keepers and slips); there will be no promotion or relegation; and overseas players, who bring so much excitement to the games, are not permitted.
The good thing is that spectators are allowed at the Cresswell ground for the matches, so long as they spread out. Even the bar is open, even if you can’t hang about inside it.

The first home game for the First XI, at the Cresswell ground, is on Saturday July 25th. See our What’s On page for other fixtures.

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Scary …

Many of us have received a strange leaflet, called CV19 Facts Not Fear, through our letterboxes. It’s printed by an anonymous local supporter of Vigiliae, which is a small conspiracy-theory group associated with David Icke. (Mr Icke was recently banned from Facebook for publishing “health misinformation that could cause physical harm”, and he also believes that reptilian beings have invaded the earth).
Mostly Vigiliae has been pushing the wild idea that mobile phone masts give you cancer, but now it has the pandemic in its sights. This leaflet outlines ten reasons why we should disbelieve the government and health authorities over Covid, and it encourages us to defy the coronavirus guidelines and rules. It even suggests that any vaccine developed in the next few months is likely to cause cancers…

Now, as any reader of this website will know, we do believe in healthy questioning of the authorities, but this is extreme and dangerous stuff.
We suggest that the best thing the person who delivered it should do is ask to speak at the next village council meeting and put across their views in open debate. The village council has been putting out community health messages over this year, so it is a good forum for such a debate.
And, if they want to debate, we are ready for them!

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Looking for Silver

Finally, we don’t usually do lost & found, because the village Facebook page does it better, but there is one case that is worrying.

Silver, a grey-haired one-eyed housecat, was apparently taken from her home and then dumped somewhere in Draycott. This was at the beginning of July.
Usually cats are sighted eventually – but not this time.
Do you have any news? Owner Tim would like to know – on 07505 041712.

***
Want to comment on any of the items on this page?  Just use the comments box – scroll down to near the bottom of this page.
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NEWS: buses / roads-meeting / planters! / cricket drop

News-in-brief  from Draycott-In-The-Moors in early October 2019
In this post we have news of…: buses – but not for us / roadworks press on regardless / one man’s flower campaign / cricket gloom
(NB – There are also dozens of events coming up soon in our locality – including a Draycott Neighbourhood Plan workshop …  Check out the Events page)

If you’d like an email from us each fortnight about the latest Draycott & Cresswell & District news, please click the ‘Follow’ button in the top right-hand corner of this webpage
For daily updates about life in our district, keep checking the village Facebook page

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St Mods press on

The ‘information-day’ that St Modwen Homes and Staffs County Highways put together yesterday to explain the forthcoming roadworks was fairly unsatisfactory all round.
Instead of using the big room at Blythe Village Hall, the organisers funnelled people in and out of the back-room (where basically you can’t hold more than a dozen people comfortably) so it was very crowded at times; it was a poor effort frankly, and most reaction was, unsurprisingly, negative.
It was pretty difficult to get close to one of the officers, let alone hear what they were saying, but the gist of it was that the roadworks would go ahead come what may.
When it came to how Blythe Bridge & Draycott would cope with the potential gridlock, it seemed few of the questions we posed had ready answers.

No way through to the A50 – for ten weeks

So … all we can hope is that the huge publicity that we as residents have generated (well done to us!) will have alerted a lot of motorists to the problem; and so those motorists will already be looking for alternative routes. Let’s hope so.
Good luck to everyone – the roadworks start on Monday (Oct 7th)!

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Bright array

If a motorist does get stuck in the roadworks jam, at least they will have a bright sight to look at.
New roadside planters, put up by local volunteer Lee Warburton, have been a real success.
The colourful flower arrangements in the containers have been dazzling on sunny days (…Draycott Plant Nurseries provided the displays).

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The whole project has been put together by Lee, who decided that Draycott Level, from the A50 to the Arms, just needed a little love (!).
He himself constructed the planters (more than half-a-dozen so far along the stretch), using a grant from the local ‘Draycott Community Solar Array Fund’ to pay for materials; got approval from the village council; and then got the official permissions from Highways to site them.The project is far from over – more planters are to come -, but with autumn setting in, we won’t see the best of of the scheme for another six months.
But then we expect Draycott Level to be bursting with colour again…!

It just shows what one volunteer can do with a little bit of good-will and determination. We owe Lee some thanks…

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No buses … and new buses

If a Draycott Council plan had come off, a bus service would have been running through Draycott-Cresswell by now.
Sadly, the plan has fallen apart, mostly because of legal issues.
However, it was a brave attempt and the council should be congratulated for having a go at least.

But … if you can get yourself to Tean or Cheadle or Blythe, there are some new services to try out.
Stantons have just started a twice-daily (Mon-Fri) ‘INR’ Cheadle-Hanley route which goes via Blythe.
D&G Buses have also just started a 32 service which goes Tean-Hanley via Cheadle.
Confusingly, First Potteries Buses also ran a 32 service, so that is now being renamed the ‘Kingfisher’ (!) service ; it runs Hanley-Uttoxeter via Tean and Blythe.
Meanwhile the long-established First Potteries 6A, which plies the Blythe-Hanley route, continues but some early-morning trips are now cancelled.
… the actual nearest working bus-stop to us is at Blythe Village Hall – and that serves the First Potteries 6A.
But, despite all that – still no buses through Draycott!

So, our recommendation is: if you are having difficulties, use the Moorlands Voluntary Transport scheme. Their local volunteer, Brian Blackwood, will pick you up and take you where you want to go, even as far as Stoke Hospital – and for around half what a normal taxi would cost you. You have to register, but, if you have no transport, it’s a real boon.

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Cricketing gloom

It was a sad day at Blythe CC’s ground in Cresswell two weeks ago when the First XI played their last match of the season. Having had two successful seasons in the NSCCL Premier Division, this third season’s results had been grim, dooming them to relegation.
Such is the spirit of deflation at the club, even their Facebook page has fallen silent.

But the gloom will not last long we are pretty sure. Already a professional has been signed for next season, and there is a lot else to be proud of at the club, including the junior teams.

Blythe Cricket Club’s ‘Community Hub’ (aka the pavilion)

Personally, we’d also like to see more publicity about the ground’s ‘Community Hub’ (which you barely hear much of these days), as more use of it would keep Cresswell buzzing in the winter months.

***
Want to comment on any of the items on this page?  Just use the comments box – near the bottom of this page.
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If you’d like an email from us each fortnight alerting you to the latest Draycott & District news, please click the ‘Follow’ button in the top right-hand corner of this webpage

Do you have news or information snippets that you think residents would like to see up on this website? If so – email us

NEWS: crazy street-naming / our Big Weekend / new Blythe Club captain

News-in-brief  from Draycott-In-The-Moors in early July 2019
In this post we have news of…: Draycott’s Big Weekend / some crazy street-naming / cricket captain steps down… 
(NB – There are also dozens of events coming up soon in our locality – including sports camps for youngsters…  Check out the Events page)

If you’d like an email from us each fortnight about the latest Draycott & Cresswell & District news, please click the ‘Follow’ button in the top right-hand corner of this webpage
For daily updates about life in our district, keep checking the village Facebook page

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Village’s big annual celebration

As everybody must know, it’s ‘Draycott’s Big Weekend’ this weekend!
Everything is taking place on Ford’s Field in the centre of the village. We have the Annual Car Boot Sale this Saturday morning, the Music Live Festival in the evening, and then all day on Sunday, the 29th Annual Draycott Fayre.
Once again, many congratulations to John Clarke and his merry band (all volunteers from the village), who’ve pulled together two days of entertainment to be truly proud of.

The ‘Vikings’ enjoy themselves with fighting!

The big attraction will be of course The Y Draig Vikings – a re-enactment group who take not only their camp-fires seriously but also their blood-curdling battle action! Really worth seeing…
For some (mentioning no names) there are also the delights of the Draycott Beer Experience in which the Draycott Arms will be providing a range of wonderful ales, not just all day Sunday in the fayre refreshment tent, but also in the grand marquee at the Saturday night live-music event.

For full details of everything – from the funfair, the vintage car rally, kids’ stuff, the bands and the ferrets (!) – click on the official Draycott Fayre website.
By the way, you’ll notice some innovations – first, under-18s can now get in free; and you can now buy tickets online (no lining up in queues!) – with a discount if you buy a combined weekend pass.

The Wibberley Family ran the fayre refreshments stall for many years

One sad note though – the long-running Wibberley Family Tea-Shop will not have a presence this year at the fayre… and will be sadly missed.
However, the staff at Draycott Moor College have stepped into the breach, so, no worries… there will be tea & cakes after all!

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Captain hands over command

It’s the end of an era in Cresswell at Blythe Cricket Club because the club’s inspirational first-team captain Peter Finch has just stepped down from the role – and has handed over to a new leader.

Peter Finch, right, receiving the Moorlands Best Team award for Blythe last year

Peter is Blythe through and through of course.
He demanded a lot of his men but, in 2017, he and the club got the rewards when Blythe were promoted to the NSCCL Premier League for the first time in their history.
Then followed a fantastic first season in the Premier when the team, which had looked a good bet for the championship for most of the season, only faltered in the last stages.

However, this season has not been so kind to Blythe’s First XI, and the team is languishing in the relegation zone, having only achieved their first win of the year at the end of last month.
Peter is handing over to Rob Ginders – and it may not be a bad thing for Peter; because, as an excellent bowler, he’ll now be able to concentrate on what he does so well, i.e. getting the batsmen out!

However, all is not total gloom for the team.
On Sunday 21st, at the Cresswell Lane ground, Blythe take on Cheadle in the semi-final of the Sentinel Talbot Cup. It’ll be something of a needle match between these two great rivals – so why not get along?
Guaranteed… some great cricket….

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You may not believe your eyes…

Regular readers of this website will know that we’ve been following the rather astonishing story of the Cresswell Old Lane road-sign for nearly six years now – and it’s still not resolved!

If you remember, back in 2013, some residents complained to Staffordshire Moorlands Council that the lane’s street-sign had been wrongly written up . SMDC took no notice sadly of the objection, so in 2017, the village council was asked put its weight behind the complaint … and in 2018, a new sign was finally put up.

But…
It was completely wrong. (Again).
This was pointed out to SMDC.
So they replaced the road-sign last month (this is now the THIRD version).
But…
It was completely wrong. Again.

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We look forward to seeing Version Number Four!!!

***
Want to comment on any of the items on this page?  Just use the comments box – near the bottom of this page.
(The form will ask if you wish to put in your email address.  You don’t have to – and it is always kept private anyway and never published -, but, if you don’t add your email address, that means you might miss any responses to your comment)

If you’d like an email from us each fortnight alerting you to the latest Draycott & District news, please click the ‘Follow’ button in the top right-hand corner of this webpage

Do you have news or information snippets that you think residents would like to see up on this website? If so – email us

NEWS: Cricket’s loss / Cross accident / Arms alterations / Responders’ decade

News-in-brief  from Draycott-In-The-Moors in late April 2019
In this post we have news of…: death of cricket club stalwart / three vehicle pile-up / temporary hours at the Arms / gathering for local life-savers … 
(NB – There are also dozens of events coming up soon in our locality – including a one-man show about WW2…  Check out the Events page)

If you’d like an email from us each fortnight about the latest Draycott & Cresswell & District news, please click the ‘Follow’ button in the top right-hand corner of this webpage
For daily updates about life in our district, keep checking the village Facebook page

_ _ _
RIP Colin

Many of us were sad to hear that ‘Mr Blythe Cricket’, Colin Dawson, had passed away at the end of last month. Starting off as a player and ending as club president, Colin served Blythe Cricket Club over some sixty years.
He will be remembered a lot for spearheading the campaign to raise half-a-million pounds to replace ageing facilities at the club’s ground in Cresswell.

In earlier days: Colin (in cap) accepting a donation for the club

Understandably, members at the club have been saddened by the news; and tributes have been pouring in. At Colin’s funeral, the traditional salute, of cricket bats held aloft, was observed as the coffin passed by.

In his honour, the friendly match which opens every season at the club has been renamed – as the Colin Dawson Trophy Match –, and will be held this year on April 20th. Following the game, a plaque will be placed on the new pavilion remembering him.

He will be missed.

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Accident at Draycott Cross

The Midlands Air Ambulance had to be called into action last Wednesday (17th) after an accident locally, which involved a van, a lorry and a motorcycle. The motorcyclist was flown to hospital.
Amazingly, despite the immediate injuries and the state the vehicles were left in, no one was seriously hurt.

Accident scene (image from Staffordshire Police)

The accident took place on Cheadle Road at Draycott Cross, by the turn off to Huntley Wood.
It’s an open stretch of road on what is otherwise a narrow lane, so it is a place where motorists tend to speed up. However… the cause of the pile-up has not yet been identified.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Staffordshire Police on 101 quoting incident 326 of April 17.

_ _ _
Light eats at Arms (for a month)

The long planned-for alterations at the Draycott Arms are now under way and should see the current pub morph into a gastro-pub plus bed & breakfast by the beginning of June.
Obviously, the builders will need a free hand, so – only for a while folks! – the full menu at the Arms is being suspended while the kitchen is affected… but snacks will still be available.
(The bar is unaffected… so, carry on drinking…. phew!)

As a consequence … new hours will apply during the alterations, which are: evenings only (from 5pm) during the week; Saturdays noon to late; and Sundays, afternoons only, i.e. 3pm-6pm.

However, as is the way with building stuff, things can change – so keep an eye on the Arms’ website for updates.

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Ten (and more) years of responding

If ever (God forbid) you find yourself suddenly seriously ill at home, the likelihood is that it will not be an ambulance first on the scene to you, but a ‘community first responder’.  These are voluntary, local, trained-up people who are on stand-by to help in the first ten minutes of a 999 call, while the ambulance is making its way.
They are, quite simply, potential life-savers.

Our local group, the ‘Fulford & District CFR’ turned ten years old last year, and is having a belated gathering next month – to which we are all invited.
During the course of the event, there will also be a session on how members of the public can use a defibrillator, which, again, can be life-saving. (There is a public defibrillator in the Cresswell kiosk, though there is none in Draycott yet).

These guys do a terrific job, and need our support. The event takes place on at Fulford Village Hall (about two miles from Cresswell) on May 9th.  (STOP PRESS: the event has now been postponed to June)

***
If you’d like an email from us each fortnight alerting you to the latest Draycott & District news, please click the ‘Follow’ button in the top right-hand corner of this webpage

Do you have news or information snippets that you think residents would like to see up on this website? If so – email us

Want to comment on any of the items on this page?
Just use the comments box – near the bottom of this page.           (The form will ask if you wish to put in your email address.  You don’t have to – and it is always kept private anyway and never published -, but, if you don’t add your email address, that means you might miss any responses to your comment)

NEWS: sporting success / Local Plan inquiry / councillor vacancy / History Day

News-in-brief  from Draycott-In-The-Moors in mid-Sept 2018
In this post we have news of…: successful summer of sport / vacancy on Draycott Council / Local Plan inquiry to start / Church history day / A50 closed for weekend   …
(NB – There are also dozens of events coming up in our locality – including  a WW1 Evening…  Check out the Events page)
For daily updates about life in our district, keep checking the village Facebook page

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Sporting summer

By any standards it has been a good summer of sport in Draycott&Cresswell. The cricket club led the way, but there was good news all round for our sportsmen and women.

Blythe Cricket Club’s First XI (based in Cresswell) surprised all the pundits with a hugely impressive first season in the NSCCL top division.
Despite being newly promoted, they ran neck and neck with the leaders right up until the last month, putting up some stunning performances. Even the last day of the season was a nail-biter – being an away match at local rivals Checkley for the honour of securing third place in the league… but captain Peter Finch and his boys overcame that hurdle, to cap a great run.
Well done to them – and there is a bonus, in the fact that the greatly experienced overseas player in the team, Jalat Khan, has settled in so well this season that he’s agreed to rejoin Blythe next year too.

At the Draycott Sports Centre, the men’s tennis side had an average season by their standards, but the actual sports centre itself has gone from strength to strength with the recent opening of a completely refurbished new gym (see pic below).
There are lots of offers on at the moment, so remember – you can now stay fit in comfort even when the weather turns lousy!

The green-bowls side based in Cresswell (Checkley A), like Blythe CC, finished high up their division, ending the season as runners-up. After an indifferent first half of the summer, they raced through the second half with an amazing six wins from seven… !

Well done to all…

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Councillor needed

Even though Councillor Steve Jones only died last month, process grinds on; and already Draycott Council is advertising the vacancy. Seems hard to be so quick at it, but it’s a legal requirement.

However, it’s not so simple as just holding an election.
For community councils like Draycott, an election has ‘to be called’ first, which means that ten people (who must all be on the local electoral register) must sign a document to say that they want an election.

The alternative is that the existing councillors will simply decide among themselves who should fill the spot (this is called ‘co-option’).
Usually ten electors would ‘call’ an election because they don’t trust their current councillors to make an intelligent or an unbiased co-option.

The notice-of-vacancy has now been published (see Draycott PC Website), and the deadline for an election to be ‘called’ is October 1st.

If you’re wondering what the requirements to be a village councillor are, and what the tasks entail, click here

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Local Plan

It has now been announced that the formal inquiry into the ‘final’ version of the Staffordshire Moorlands Local Plan will get underway in the first week of October.
[The ‘Local Plan’ is the framework for what will happen, planning-wise, in this Moorlands region over the next decade and more.]

Members of the Draycott community action-group, VVSM, have applied to address the inquiry, but it all depends on whether they get an invite – and that is in the lap of the gods. (See the article: VVSM hopes…)
They want to protest at the fact that 300 homes are to be built over the next five years in this small area, not to mention that there will be a large escalation of industrial factories. The Local Plan also sets out space for even further development in Draycott!

Our own local Draycott Council did not actually make a response to the final draft of the Local Plan (no one seems to know why!), so there is no chance of a representative from them being invited to speak, despite the massive issues facing our village.
One of the issues that should have been addressed by our council is the odd way that the planners are trying to change the ‘settlement boundaries’ around us. It looks like part of what was within the Draycott Settlement-Area appears to be being shifted into the new Blythe Bridge settlement area. Now, why is that happening?

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750 counting down

The celebrations for the 750th anniversary of St Margaret’s Church are hotting up: with the announcement that there is to be a History Day, during which the ways the church has been central to how this village’s growth since the thirteenth century will be outlined.
The event takes place on October 20th.

This rose ornament seen here on an ancient tomb in the church was an heirloom worn by the women of the Draycott family down the years

Signed up to lead the day will be our two most prominent local historians – Matthew Pointon (who wrote the definitive book of the history of this area) and Lev Wood, the ‘face’ of the local history society.
We’ll bring you the details as they transpire.

Lev also has hit the limelight in a second way. Everyone who attended the Draycott Fayre this year will have seen his amazing World War One re-enactment complete with trench dug-out.
Well, Lev is also the man who has been credited with re-discovering an amazing, huge canvas on which is painted lots of scenes of battles from the Great War. It was painted by soldiers of the North Staffordshire Regiment, many of whom were recuperating from wounds themselves. It has a sad thrust though – along its base are listed over 900 names of the men’s comrades who had died in the conflict.
Click here for all the details.

This banner was stored away from sight for decades just decaying, but is now somewhat restored, and part of it can be seen in the special WW1 exhibition currently on at the Potteries Museum.
The exhibition is on there until November 11th, and includes other artefacts too, and it really is worth getting along as soon as you can.

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Finally … (but not totally finally…)

Don’t forget… the A50 is completely closed – in both directions – from Blythe Bridge roundabout to Uttoxeter from 8pm on Friday 28 September through until 5.30am on Monday 1st October.

The bridge that stands there at the moment (by the JCB factory) should be fully demolished by the end of the weekend; and the adjacent new bridge finally up and working fully – so you’d think that that would finally be an end of the ‘A50-Growth-Corridor’ roadworks, wouldn’t you?
But, we’re told it won’t be. We can expect more disruption on the Uttoxeter end of the A522 until the end of the year.

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Do you have news or information snippets that you think residents would like to see up on this website? If so – email us

Want to comment on any of the items on this page?
Just use the comments box – near the bottom of this page.           (The form will ask if you wish to put in your email address.  You don’t have to – and it is always kept private anyway and never published -, but, if you don’t add your email, that means you might miss any responses to your comment

Place of sporting excellence

What an outdoors-y summer it has been! There has been no excuse at all not to get out and enjoy the weather … and our local sports facilities are certainly benefiting.
In fact, Draycott & Cresswell is now a centre for sporting excellence in many ways…

Best coaches and best support

If you want proof of just how well-regarded our local sport is in the rest of the region, look no further than the latest crop of awards.

At the Staffordshire Moorlands 2018 Sports Awards, around half of the accolades went to folk based here in this village!

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Sports Team of the Year went to Blythe Cricket Club’s 1st XI, who won the NSSCL First Division title with more wins in a season than any in the league’s history.
The Sport Across Staffordshire (SAS) Volunteer of the Year was Angie Heathcote, who has been the managing hand in Blythe Cricket Club’s financial success.
And Sports Coach of the Year went to Tara Burndred of the Tatsu Dojo Club in Cresswell.

Meanwhile congratulations are also in order to Mike Heath at Draycott Tennis Centre; he won the ‘Tennis Staffordshire’ Volunteer of the Year Award (which is part of the national British Tennis Awards).

But it doesn’t stop there. Not only are our people among the best, so are the facilities.

Upgrades

As we all know ‘Draycott Racquet & Fitness Club’ – to give it its full title – offers tennis, indoor-tennis, squash, badminton, and gym. Classes on site include spinning.

In the last few years, they’ve refurbished the gym and squash areas but now they’re pushing on further – by investing over £20,000 into new equipment. Yes, on their way (as we speak) are eight new Impulse Machines, two New Star Trac Treadmills and additional free-weights. Lockers will also be installed.
Work is ongoing, but should be finished by the end of this month. Why not go along and check it out then for yourself?

Surely it’s that forward-looking attitude that has helped the club to produce its first world-ranked tennis player – Elliott Farmer .
Elliott achieved his world ranking in doubles earlier this year when he competed in the Tunisia F18 Doubles – reaching the semi-finals, which means he is now world-ranked. Congrats to him!
Elliott has been training for over 10 years now at Draycott (with his main coach here being Craig Leese). He is now also constantly travelling the world trying to achieve a world ranking in singles too. (Fortunately he has great sponsors – including the South Cheshire-based ABC Solutions company).

So… Draycott – a great place for high-class tennis.
And if you want to see some matches (almost as good as Wimbledon !), and see them for free, head down to the three-day long annual Draycott Open Tournament, which starts on August 5th.

Shiny new nets

Now, everyone pretty much knows the success story that has been the Cresswell-based Blythe Cricket Club over the past two years.
Not only did the club successfully bid for (and build) a new pavilion, costing some half-million pounds, but the first team achieved promotion to the NSSCL Premier Division in 2017, and this season are even challenging strongly for the championship.

But, again, success is built on great volunteers and by improving facilities. The most recent improvement has been the new nets, which replace the rather outdated old ones.

Not mentioned as often as it should be is the fact also that the club runs youngsters’ teams, with even an under-8’s team on the roster. There has been no women’s team since the last one folded in 2014, but (we’re told) the club has not stopped looking for a way to re-start it.

Bowling-yellow

However, one club that has had a slightly more difficult year than other local ones is the CP Outdoor Bowls Club, which is based on Blythe Business Park in Cresswell.

A major distraction has been the future of the business park itself, which will be transformed over the next year with the development of extra infrastructure and industrial units & factories.
However, it does now look as though the bowling green is safe; and the club will continue.

The surface of the club’s green has of course been an issue this summer; three months of hot dry weather have taken their toll. What was a bowling-green is currently a bowling-yellow! (see pic below)
But long-time secretary Sue Stepek is stressing the advantages of playing this beautiful game to all who are thinking of an outdoor pursuit.
She says: “New members are always welcome. Newbies will have opportunities to play at most levels. But, if they just want to play for fun, ‘club afternoons’ take place every Thursday through the season (from about 2.00pm). Please contact 01782 396785 – and I’ll make sure someone is around to welcome you!”

Great place to stay sporty

And we haven’t mentioned all the fitness activities in the village we could have – there are keep-fit classes at the dance studios in Cresswell for instance as well – but space is against us…

But, when you think about all that’s here… then, how lucky are we????

NEWS: cricket joy / online paper / comunity fund / GOSH charity / car-boot / Shashi RIP

News-in-brief  from Draycott-In-The-Moors in mid June 2018
In this post we have news of…: cricket club’s great start to season / reading the Stunner online / county hands out money to community / the Arms goes for a charity ride / book a car-boot spot …
(NB – There are also dozens of events coming up in our locality – including a free live-music afternoon…  Check out the Events page)
For daily updates about life in our district, keep checking the village Facebook page

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Boyz doing good

Congratulations to our very own Blythe Cricket Club  for a cracking start to their season. The Cresswell-based team were promoted to the NSCCL Premiership for the first time last season, and some thought they may be destined to head straight back down again. But, not so!
The lads had a 100% record until meeting this season’s leaders Porthill Park but even now still figure in the top five of the table.

The Blythe CC ground has spectacular views

One wise new signing was Jalat Khan.  Although we are not long into the season, the Pakistani international leads the batting and bowling stats! What with the consistently expert bowling of ‘veteran’ Matt Goodwin and the leadership of captain Peter Finch, all looks set for the club to have a good summer.
However a real test comes up on 23rd June, when Blythe is at home to reigning champions Meakins.
Entrance to matches is free.

(By the way, if you are wondering where the young wicket-keeping star Jack Hammond has gone, well, it’s not far – he transferred to Checkley).

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County Council gives money back to public – shock

The end-of-the-financial-year summaries have just been published for the county council’s ‘Community Fund’. Under this scheme, every county councillor is given a sum of money to distribute to projects in his or her own ward.

Mark Deaville

Our own county councillor, Mark Deaville (his Cheadle & Checkley ward covers Draycott) nominated just over £7000 to thirteen local projects in 2017/18.
In Draycott and Cresswell, his nominations saw £800 for Checkley Outdoor Bowls Club (which plays in Cresswell), another £800 for furniture for the new Blythe CC Community Pavilion (also in Cresswell), and £300 for curtains for the church hall. Click here to see details of all those grants.

Mark is now making his nominations for 2018/19, so if you have a community project that you think could do with a few quid, just ask! Click here for details on how to do that.

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Stunner enters 21st century

It’s interesting to see that our local newspaper The Stunner (aka The Cheadle & Blythe Bridge Times & Echo) is now available online as well as in paper form.  So, if you prefer to keep up with the world on your computer (or phone), well, now you can.
You can now get the whole of paper’s content, cover-to-cover, not just the headlines, by taking out an online subscription.

However, we are pretty old-fashioned, and still prefer the crinkle of actual paper…
What’s more, thanks to Lloyds Newsagents in Blythe Bridge, who still employ a paper girl, we don’t even have to leave home to read it, getting it delivered through the letterbox.

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GOSH!

Recent visitors to the Draycott Arms will have noticed that mine-hosts, Zara and Brayn (pic below), are looking even fitter and leaner than usual.

This is because the pair are currently training for the 100-Mile Charity Cycle Ride – which takes place in July, raising money for the famous children’s hospital Great Ormond Street (aka GOSH).
Unlike a lot of so-called ‘challenges’ this one is really quite tough. It’s an up-and-down course, and will certainly be exhausting. (This is why we have preferred to simply support their just-giving page rather than take part ourselves!)

It’s a great cause too. Check out how to contribute by clicking the pair’s Just-Giving page.
Alternatively, why not head on down to the Draycott Arms ‘Music in The Sun’ event this Sunday (10th), and make your contribution in person?

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Make some money

Next month’s Draycott Summer Fayre Weekend  is offering us all a chance to make a little pin money.   Every little helps…

For the first time, the fayre’s car-boot sale will be a stand-alone affair, taking place on the Saturday (the morning of July 7th). There is a large field to fill, so there is plenty of room.
As it’s the first time of trying, the cost of a pitch has been kept deliberately low – just £5 per spot (including car).  It’s free entry for the public.

Draycott Fayre (2016)

However, it is best to book your pitch in advance. Maureen Winfield is in charge of the organisation of it all – so email her if you want to make sure of taking part.
Time to check the garage…

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RIP Shashi

It’s always sad to report the death of a member of the community, but sadder when it is someone who has done so much good.
On May 24th, Doctor Salpekar Shashikar died at his home in Upper Tean, aged 81; he leaves his wife Prabha. Shashi will be missed.

***
Do you have news or information snippets that you think residents would like to see up on this website? If so – email us

Want to comment on any of the items on this page?
Just use the comments box – near the bottom of this page.           (The form will ask if you wish to put in your email address.  You don’t have to – and it is always kept private anyway and never published – but, if you don’t add your email, that means you might miss any responses to your comment

NEWS: grand opening / assault / Local Plan / fest success

In this post we have news of…: new community facility opened / man attacked / Local Plan emergency meeting / Cloggerfest success …
(NB – There are also dozens of events coming up in our locality – including a meeting to discuss a Speed-Watch project for Draycott Level. Check out the Events page)
For daily updates about life in our district, keep checking the village Facebook page

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Assault

The Saturday night at the beginning of this month (2nd Sept) was not a good night to be out late on Draycott Level. A very loud group of lads were singing their way along Uttoxeter Road at 1.30 in the morning, a man was robbed and assaulted, and it was probably this night that a notice-board was kicked over and broken.

The worst incident, of a young man being assaulted, took place on the pavement almost opposite Stuart Avenue. The man was kicked and robbed of his wallet and jacket by a small group of youths who had jumped out of a car that was following.

The parish notice-board on Draycott Level – kicked over

An ambulance was called – but fortunately the injuries were not serious; and a friend, who had been walking with the victim, though he was chased, did manage to get away unscathed.
Curiously, the car had returned by this point – and the jacket and wallet thrown back (though some money was apparently missing).
Naturally, the police are looking for as much information as they can get. The car involved was a silver-coloured hatchback with one front light missing. If you know anything, they’d like you to call 101 and mention the reference number, which is 59 (Sept 3rd).

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Local Plan discussion

Draycott Parish Council called an emergency meeting this week to discuss the new proposed Staffordshire Moorlands Local Plan – the strategy which will decide how infrastructure issues such as housing will be allocated in the region for the next fifteen years.

About twenty members of the public attended and the general mood was not favourable. Many residents said how disillusioned they were with Staffs Moorlands Council and how they didn’t believe in the fairness of the planning process much anymore.
Mark Deaville, our councillor on SMDC, attended (though our other two SMDC councillors did not). He said that, yes, growth (especially in new homes) was needed if Draycott/Cresswell was to get funding for better infrastructure projects such as traffic-crossing refuges, but also said: “Confidence in the Moorlands planning department is at an all time low”.

Some people also said that confidence in the actual councillors who sit on the council’s planning committee was also very low.
They pointed out that the latest proposals could see three roundabouts along Draycott Level (plus a new one coming in Cresswell) in just a one-mile stretch!
There was also general unhappiness that virtually the total quota for new industrial development for the whole Moorlands is being allocated to Draycott/Cresswell…

It would have been good to hear from all our parish councillors about what they thought of the proposals, but only Mark and Roger Holdcroft (the chairman of the parish council) actually spoke up with considered responses.

What happens next is that the clerk of the council will collate the public’s responses, and then incorporate those into the council’s own comments. She is hoping to publish these comments on the council’s website by this Saturday (16th).
Comments on the proposals must be put forward by Sept 22nd. Every adult in the district is allowed to make comments on the Plan – and Roger Holdcroft is urging people to do just that.
If you do nothing else, check out paragraph 8.26 in the Plan, and comment on that – that’s the most significant paragraph as far as Draycott is concentred.

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Grand opening

Much much better news is that the ‘Colin Dawson Community Hub’ on the local cricket club’s ground in Cresswell is at last open for business. Paid for by Lottery money, with generous donations from supporters also underwriting it, it is a magnificent building which will be warm and cosy all year round.
It has a large function room, a well-stocked bar, and a couple of smaller meeting rooms.
It really is a great achievement.
In the photo below, you can see : Austin Knott (club secretary), Brian Lawton (NSSCL cricket league chairman), Alison Grimley (chair of the club’s Lottery Bid) and Simon Owen (club chairman).

All smiles in front of the new community hub

Opened formally this last weekend – Draycott’s oldest and most well-known resident, Betty Hammond, cut the ribbon – surrounding householders were also invited to come along and look round (and eat the free food!). The ones we spoke to had nothing but praise.

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The next step is to invite local groups and events-organisers to use the centre; and a list of charges will be published soon.
We were told that a small part-time post is being created – to employ someone to go out into the community and publicise just what a great resource is on our doorstep.
In the meantime, Alison Grimley, who has been overseeing the project on behalf of Blythe Cricket Club, says just to email her if you are eager to start using the centre in the near future.

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Cloggerfest success

A ‘new’ Cloggerfest was initiated this year.
Cresswell’s own two-day rock & nu-folk music festival is an annual event designed to appeal to the whole family. However, after a spot of bother happened last year, this year security was tightened, and the festival changed from a free event to a ticketed one.

Ange Heathcote, who organises the set-up, told us that all passed peacefully this year, partly thanks to some friendly police officers who were helping out the security effort! In fact some people without tickets were turned away on the advice of the security team.

Ange reported too that the admission fee did not deter people – some £2000 was taken on the gate and camping facilities were fully booked up weeks before…
The organisers on the music side told us also that the music fans themselves were well-happy with the line-up of bands and the quality of the sound; while the charity-events organisers (the local Rotary Club is big into this festival) said the kids enjoyed themselves too.

So… roll on Cloggerfest 2018!

***
Want to comment on any of the items on this page?
Just use the comments box – near the bottom of this page.           (The form will ask if you wish to put in your email address.  You don’t have to – and it is always kept private anyway and never published -, but, if you don’t add your email, that means you might miss any responses to your comment